Today in Transportation History – 1971: Rowing Alone Across the Indian Ocean

Anders Svedlund became the first person to cross the Indian Ocean in a rowing boat when he arrived at a beach near the city of Diego-Suarez (now Antsiranana) in northern Madagascar. Svedlund, who had been born in Sweden but ultimately moved to New Zealand, completed his pioneering journey 64 days after setting off from Western Australia’s coastal town of Kalbarri in a 21-foot fiberglass boat named Roselagen. It was his second attempt to row approximately 5,000 miles across the Indian Ocean.